Florida Senate - 2022                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. PCS (430576) for CS for SB 1262
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì706528<Î706528                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Appropriations (Burgess) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 224 - 463
    4  and insert:
    5  contacts of a patient’s whereabouts pursuant to s.
    6  119.0712(2)(d). Any facility accepting the patient based on this
    7  report must send a copy of the report to the department within 5
    8  working days.
    9         3. A physician, a physician assistant, a clinical
   10  psychologist, a psychiatric nurse, an advanced practice
   11  registered nurse registered under s. 464.0123, a mental health
   12  counselor, a marriage and family therapist, or a clinical social
   13  worker may execute a certificate stating that he or she has
   14  examined a person within the preceding 48 hours and finds that
   15  the person appears to meet the criteria for involuntary
   16  examination and stating the observations upon which that
   17  conclusion is based. If other less restrictive means, such as
   18  voluntary appearance for outpatient evaluation, are not
   19  available, a law enforcement officer shall take into custody the
   20  person named in the certificate and deliver him or her to the
   21  appropriate, or nearest, facility within the designated
   22  receiving system pursuant to s. 394.462 for involuntary
   23  examination. The law enforcement officer shall execute a written
   24  report detailing the circumstances under which the person was
   25  taken into custody. The report must include all emergency
   26  contact information for the person that is readily accessible to
   27  the law enforcement officer, including information available
   28  through electronic databases maintained by the Department of Law
   29  Enforcement or by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
   30  Vehicles. Such emergency contact information may be used by a
   31  receiving facility only for the purpose of informing listed
   32  emergency contacts of a patient’s whereabouts pursuant to s.
   33  119.0712(2)(d). The report and certificate shall be made a part
   34  of the patient’s clinical record. Any facility accepting the
   35  patient based on this certificate must send a copy of the
   36  certificate to the department within 5 working days. The
   37  document may be submitted electronically through existing data
   38  systems, if applicable.
   39  
   40  When sending the order, report, or certificate to the
   41  department, a facility shall, at a minimum, provide information
   42  about which action was taken regarding the patient under
   43  paragraph (g), which information shall also be made a part of
   44  the patient’s clinical record.
   45         (e) The department shall receive and maintain the copies of
   46  ex parte orders, involuntary outpatient services orders issued
   47  pursuant to s. 394.4655, involuntary inpatient placement orders
   48  issued pursuant to s. 394.467, professional certificates, and
   49  law enforcement officers’ reports, and reports relating to the
   50  transportation of patients. These documents shall be considered
   51  part of the clinical record, governed by the provisions of s.
   52  394.4615. These documents shall be used to prepare annual
   53  reports analyzing the data obtained from these documents,
   54  without information identifying patients, and shall provide
   55  copies of reports to the department, the President of the
   56  Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
   57  minority leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
   58         (f) A patient shall be examined by a physician or a
   59  clinical psychologist, or by a psychiatric nurse performing
   60  within the framework of an established protocol with a
   61  psychiatrist at a facility without unnecessary delay to
   62  determine if the criteria for involuntary services are met.
   63  Emergency treatment may be provided upon the order of a
   64  physician if the physician determines that such treatment is
   65  necessary for the safety of the patient or others. The patient
   66  may not be released by the receiving facility or its contractor
   67  without the documented approval of a psychiatrist or a clinical
   68  psychologist or, if the receiving facility is owned or operated
   69  by a hospital, or health system, or nationally accredited
   70  community mental health center, the release may also be approved
   71  by a psychiatric nurse performing within the framework of an
   72  established protocol with a psychiatrist, or an attending
   73  emergency department physician with experience in the diagnosis
   74  and treatment of mental illness after completion of an
   75  involuntary examination pursuant to this subsection. A
   76  psychiatric nurse may not approve the release of a patient if
   77  the involuntary examination was initiated by a psychiatrist
   78  unless the release is approved by the initiating psychiatrist.
   79  The release may be approved through telehealth.
   80         (g) The examination period must be for up to 72 hours. For
   81  a minor, the examination shall be initiated within 12 hours
   82  after the patient’s arrival at the facility. Within the
   83  examination period or, if the examination period ends on a
   84  weekend or holiday, no later than the next working day
   85  thereafter, one of the following actions must be taken, based on
   86  the individual needs of the patient:
   87         1. The patient shall be released, unless he or she is
   88  charged with a crime, in which case the patient shall be
   89  returned to the custody of a law enforcement officer;
   90         2. The patient shall be released, subject to subparagraph
   91  1., for voluntary outpatient treatment;
   92         3. The patient, unless he or she is charged with a crime,
   93  shall be asked to give express and informed consent to placement
   94  as a voluntary patient and, if such consent is given, the
   95  patient shall be admitted as a voluntary patient; or
   96         4. A petition for involuntary services shall be filed in
   97  the circuit court if inpatient treatment is deemed necessary or
   98  with the criminal county court, as defined in s. 394.4655(1), as
   99  applicable. When inpatient treatment is deemed necessary, the
  100  least restrictive treatment consistent with the optimum
  101  improvement of the patient’s condition shall be made available.
  102  When a petition is to be filed for involuntary outpatient
  103  placement, it shall be filed by one of the petitioners specified
  104  in s. 394.4655(4)(a). A petition for involuntary inpatient
  105  placement shall be filed by the facility administrator. If a
  106  patient’s 72-hour examination period ends on a weekend or
  107  holiday, and the receiving facility:
  108         a.Intends to file a petition for involuntary services,
  109  such patient may be held at a receiving facility through the
  110  next working day thereafter and such petition for involuntary
  111  services must be filed no later than such date. If the receiving
  112  facility fails to file a petition for involuntary services at
  113  the close of the next working day, the patient shall be released
  114  from the receiving facility following approval pursuant to
  115  paragraph (f).
  116         b.Does not intend to file a petition for involuntary
  117  services, a receiving facility may postpone release of a patient
  118  until the next working day thereafter only if a qualified
  119  professional documents that adequate discharge planning and
  120  procedures in accordance with s. 394.468, and approval pursuant
  121  to paragraph (f), are not possible until the next working day.
  122         (5) UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES RELATING TO EXAMINATION AND
  123  TREATMENT; PENALTIES.—
  124         (a)A person may not knowingly and willfully:
  125         1.Furnish false information for the purpose of obtaining
  126  emergency or other involuntary admission of another;
  127         2.Cause or otherwise secure, or conspire with or assist
  128  another to cause or secure, any emergency or other involuntary
  129  procedure of another person under false pretenses; or
  130         3.Cause, or conspire with or assist another to cause,
  131  without lawful justification, the denial to any person of any
  132  right accorded pursuant to this chapter.
  133         (b)A person who violates this subsection commits a
  134  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
  135  775.082 and by a fine not exceeding $5,000.
  136         Section 6. Section 394.468, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  137  read:
  138         394.468 Admission and discharge procedures.—
  139         (1) Admission and discharge procedures and treatment
  140  policies of the department are governed solely by this part.
  141  Such procedures and policies shall not be subject to control by
  142  court procedure rules. The matters within the purview of this
  143  part are deemed to be substantive, not procedural.
  144         (2)Discharge planning and procedures for any patient’s
  145  release from a receiving facility or treatment facility must
  146  include and document consideration of, at a minimum:
  147         (a)Follow-up behavioral health appointments;
  148         (b)Information on how to obtain prescribed medications;
  149  and
  150         (c)Information pertaining to:
  151         1.Available living arrangements;
  152         2.Transportation; and
  153         3.Recovery support opportunities.
  154         Section 7. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) and subsection
  155  (5) of section 394.9086, Florida Statutes, are amended, and
  156  paragraphs (d) and (e) are added to subsection (3) of that
  157  section, to read:
  158         394.9086 Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.—
  159         (3) MEMBERSHIP; TERM LIMITS; MEETINGS.—
  160         (c) The commission shall convene no later than September 1,
  161  2021. The commission shall meet quarterly or upon the call of
  162  the chair. The commission may shall hold its meetings in person
  163  at locations throughout the state or via teleconference or other
  164  electronic means.
  165         (d)Members of the commission are entitled to receive
  166  reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses pursuant to s.
  167  112.061.
  168         (e) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission may
  169  request and shall be provided with access to any information or
  170  records, including exempt and confidential information or
  171  records, which are necessary for the commission to carry out its
  172  duties. Information or records obtained by the commission which
  173  are otherwise exempt or confidential and exempt shall retain
  174  such exempt or confidential and exempt status, and the
  175  commission may not disclose such information or records.
  176         (5) REPORTS.—By January 1, 2023 September 1, 2022, the
  177  commission shall submit an interim report to the President of
  178  the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
  179  Governor containing its findings and recommendations on how to
  180  best provide and facilitate mental health and substance abuse
  181  services in the state. The commission shall submit its final
  182  report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
  183  of Representatives, and the Governor by September 1, 2023.
  184         Section 8. Subsection (5) is added to section 397.601,
  185  Florida Statutes, to read:
  186         397.601 Voluntary admissions.—
  187         (5) A service provider must document that, within 24 hours
  188  of admission, individuals admitted on a voluntary basis have
  189  been provided with the option to authorize the release of
  190  information from their clinical record to the individual’s
  191  health care surrogate or proxy, attorney, representative, or
  192  other known emergency contact.
  193         Section 9. Section 397.6772, Florida Statutes, is amended
  194  to read:
  195         397.6772 Protective custody without consent.—
  196         (1) If a person in circumstances which justify protective
  197  custody as described in s. 397.677 fails or refuses to consent
  198  to assistance and a law enforcement officer has determined that
  199  a hospital or a licensed detoxification or addictions receiving
  200  facility is the most appropriate place for the person, the
  201  officer may, after giving due consideration to the expressed
  202  wishes of the person:
  203         (a) Take the person to a hospital or to a licensed
  204  detoxification or addictions receiving facility against the
  205  person’s will but without using unreasonable force. The officer
  206  shall use the standard form developed by the department pursuant
  207  to s. 397.321 to execute a written report detailing the
  208  circumstances under which the person was taken into custody. The
  209  report must include all emergency contact information for the
  210  person that is readily accessible to the law enforcement
  211  officer, including information available through electronic
  212  databases maintained by the Department of Law Enforcement or by
  213  the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Such
  214  emergency contact information may be used by a hospital or
  215  licensed detoxification or addictions receiving facility only
  216  for the purpose of informing listed emergency contacts of a
  217  patient’s whereabouts pursuant to s. 119.0712(2)(d). The written
  218  report shall be included in the patient’s clinical record; or
  219         (b) In the case of an adult, detain the person for his or
  220  her own protection in any municipal or county jail or other
  221  appropriate detention facility.
  222  
  223  Such detention is not to be considered an arrest for any
  224  purpose, and no entry or other record may be made to indicate
  225  that the person has been detained or charged with any crime. The
  226  officer in charge of the detention facility must notify the
  227  nearest appropriate licensed service provider within the first 8
  228  hours after detention that the person has been detained. It is
  229  the duty of the detention facility to arrange, as necessary, for
  230  transportation of the person to an appropriate licensed service
  231  provider with an available bed. Persons taken into protective
  232  custody must be assessed by the attending physician within the
  233  72-hour period and without unnecessary delay, to determine the
  234  need for further services.
  235         (2) The law enforcement officer must notify the nearest
  236  relative of a minor in protective custody and must be notified
  237  by the law enforcement officer, as must notify the nearest
  238  relative or other known emergency contact of an adult, unless
  239  the adult requests that there be no notification. The law
  240  enforcement officer must document such notification, and any
  241  attempts at notification, in the written report detailing the
  242  circumstances under which the person was taken into custody as
  243  required under paragraph (1)(a).
  244         Section 10. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section
  245  119.0712, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  246         119.0712 Executive branch agency-specific exemptions from
  247  inspection or copying of public records.—
  248         (2) DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY AND MOTOR VEHICLES.—
  249         (d)1. Emergency contact information contained in a motor
  250  vehicle record is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and
  251  s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
  252         2. Without the express consent of the person to whom such
  253  emergency contact information applies, the emergency contact
  254  information contained in a motor vehicle record may be released
  255  only to:
  256         a. Law enforcement agencies for purposes of contacting
  257  those listed in the event of an emergency.
  258         b. A receiving facility, hospital, or licensed
  259  detoxification or addictions receiving facility pursuant to ss.
  260  394.463(2)(a) and 397.6772(1)(a) for the sole purpose of
  261  informing a patient’s emergency contacts of the patient’s
  262  whereabouts.
  263  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  264  And the title is amended as follows:
  265         Delete lines 3 - 31
  266  and insert:
  267         amending s. 119.0712, F.S.; authorizing emergency
  268         contact information to be released to certain
  269         entities; amending s. 394.455, F.S.; defining the term
  270         “telehealth”; amending s. 394.459, F.S.; revising the
  271         conditions under which a patient’s communication with
  272         persons outside of a receiving facility may be
  273         restricted; revising the conditions under which a
  274         patient’s sealed and unopened incoming or outgoing
  275         correspondence may be restricted; revising the
  276         conditions under which a patient’s contact and
  277         visitation with persons outside of a receiving
  278         facility may be restricted; revising the frequency
  279         with which the restriction on a patient’s right to
  280         receive visitors must be reviewed; amending s.
  281         394.4599, F.S.; requiring a receiving facility to
  282         notify specified emergency contacts of individuals who
  283         are being involuntarily held for examination; amending
  284         s. 394.4615, F.S.; requiring receiving facilities to
  285         document that an option to authorize the release of
  286         specified information has been provided, within a
  287         specified timeframe, to individuals admitted on a
  288         voluntary basis; amending s. 394.463, F.S.; requiring
  289         that reports issued by law enforcement officers when
  290         delivering a person to a receiving facility contain
  291         certain information related to emergency contacts;
  292         limiting the use of certain information provided;
  293         requiring the Department of Children and Families to
  294         receive and maintain reports relating to the
  295         transportation of patients; revising a prohibition on
  296         releasing a patient without certain documented
  297         approval; authorizing receiving